Impact explosion prevention of disabled rockets

ABSTRACT

A vehicle protection system for vehicle windows against RPGs, comprising an RPG countermeasure mechanism (an active disruption mechanism that propels an object at an incoming RPG or a static structure) that results in a disabled RPG that cannot explode as a liner shaped charge warhead but can still explode, and a set of transparent panels attached to the vehicle, the panels large enough to cover the windows of the vehicle, the panels of the set of transparent panels inclined relative to an imaginary vertical plane nonnal to a surface that the vehicle rests on by an angle that is between 20, and 40 degrees, the panels made of rigid material, such as PMMA. for absorbing an impact from the disabled RPG so that it never reaches the threshold deceleration needed to explode.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to neutralizing RPGs, and, moreparticularly to controlling already disabled RPGs and preventingresidual damage to vehicles.

Applicant has filed a patent application (WO 2010/029530) for anEnclosure Protecting System and Method (published Mar. 18, 2010) thatneutralizes RPGs and other projectiles by preventing initiation of theshaped charge warhead of the RPG before it strikes, which _(p)atentapplication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Theaforementioned patent application describes an active disruptionmechanism comprising a disrupting element propelled towards theapproaching RPG that disrupts or prevents the electric initiation of theexplosive by either truncating the nose-cone which carries the signalfrom the piezo-electric sensor to the RPG fuse or causing an electricshort therein. The RPG then continues toward its target without itsnormal means of initiating the hyper-velocity jet from its warheadliner.

There are also static systems that similarly short circuit or disablethe piezo-electric sensor/initiator. Structures may be attached to thevehicle to accomplish this. For example, the structure may be spacedapart rods or discs outside the vehicle that catch the nose cone of theincoming RPG and short circuit the piezo-electric sensor in the cone.

Since the RPG, having been disabled, nonetheless still contains anexplosive charge, there is a danger that even without its normalmechanism for electric initiation of the fuse that causes the explosivesto explode and create a hypervelocity axial liner, the RPG will stillexplode and penetrate the vehicle as a result of the sudden impact ofthe disabled RPG hitting the vehicle.

There is a compelling need to prevent damage to a vehicle or otherobject from an RPG whose piezo-electric sensor has been disabled. Inparticular, there is a compelling need to prevent detonation of theexplosives in the disabled RPG.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is a protection system for vehiclewindows against RPGs, comprising an RPG countermeasure mechanism againstan RPG that results in a disabled RPG, the RPG countermeasure mechanismselected from (i) an active disruption mechanism that propels an objectat an incoming RPG and (ii) a static structure attached to a vehicle tobe protected; and a set of transparent panels attached to the vehicle,the panels large enough to cover the windows of the vehicle, the panelsof the set of transparent panels inclined relative to an imaginaryvertical plane noinial to a surface that the vehicle rests on by anangle that is between 20 and 40 degrees, the panels made of a materialfor absorbing an impact from the disabled RPG with no residualexplosion.

A further aspect of the present invention is an RPG neutralizationmechanism for a vehicle, the RPG including explosives, the RPGneutralization mechanism comprising an RPG disruption mechanism in closeproximity to the vehicle for disabling a detonator mechanism of the RPGwithout removing the explosives and thereby resulting in a disabled RPG;a set of transparent panels covering windows of the vehicle, eachtransparent panel of the set configured at an incline angle ofapproximately 20 to 40 degrees from an imaginary vertical plane normalto a surface on which the vehicle rests and rigid so as to reduce animpulse of impact of the RPG colliding with the vehicle to below athreshold impulse of impact, the threshold impulse defined to triggerexplosion of the explosives in the disabled RPG.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a vehicle protectionkit against RPGs, comprising an RPG disruption mechanism attached to thevehicle for disabling an RPG without removing explosives from adetonator of the RPG and allowing a disabled RIG to impact the vehicle;a layer of foam covering non-windowed sides of the vehicle; transparentpanels covering windowed sides of the vehicle, the panels inclined off avertical plane normal to the surface on which the vehicle rests by anangle such that a disabled RPG colliding with the transparent panelsafter bouncing off the solid foam will have less impulse of impact thana threshold impulse of impact needed to trigger explosion of theexplosives.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a method ofprotecting a vehicle from an RPG without adversely affecting an agilityof the vehicle, comprising disabling the RPG by active disruption orstatic disruption, so that a disabled RPG still containing explosivesimpacts the vehicle; and absorbing an impact from the disabled RPG usingtransparent lightweight panels covering windows of the vehicle so as toreduce an impulse of impact from the disabled RPG to below a thresholdlevel of deceleration needed for explosion, the transparent panelsinclined off a vertical plane by between 20 and 40 degrees to preventthe disabled RPG from exploding.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, descriptions and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle having an RPG protection mechanismthat includes transparent panels and that includes an active RPGdisruption mechanism, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A through 2D are schematic fragmentary views of a vehicle fittedwith an active RPG disruption mechanism, illustrating consecutive stepsof neutralizing an approaching RPG;

FIG. 2E is an isometric sectioned view of a warhead of an RPG;

FIGS. 2F and 2G correspond with FIG. 2E and schematically illustrate twoways of disabling the RPG;

FIG. 3A is a partial front view of a vehicle having an RPG protectionmechanism and an active RPG disruption mechanism and showing inclinedpanels on the side and front windows, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a partial front view of a vehicle having an RPG protectionmechanism in the form of inclined panels on the side and front windowsof the vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3C is a partial front view of a vehicle showing an RPG protectionmechanism showing panels on windowed portions of the vehicle and showinga solid foam for non-windowed portions of one side of the vehicle, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3D is a partial front view of a vehicle having an RPG protectionmechanism and an active RPG disruption mechanism and showing inclinedpanels on the side and front windows similar to FIG. 3A except with analternative orientation, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3E is a partial front view of a vehicle having an RPG protectionmechanism in the form of inclined panels on the side and front windowsof the vehicle similar to FIG. 3B except with an alternativeorientation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3F is a partial front view of a vehicle showing an RPG protectionmechanism showing panels on windowed portions of the vehicle similar toFIG. 3C except with an alternative orientation and showing a solid foamfor non-windowed portions of one side of the vehicle, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of a vehicle having an RPG protectionmechanism showing panels at multiple angles on the side windows andshowing a panel on the front window at one angle, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a vehicle having an RPG protection systemthat includes panels for windows and solid foam for non-windowedportions of a side of the vehicle; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratingthe general principles of the invention, since the scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

The present invention generally provides an RPG protection mechanismthat protects windows and windowed areas of a vehicle such as a Hummer,a JLTV, an armored personnel carrier (APC) or other vehicle from RPGfire. Used in conjunction with active or passive (e.g.

bar minor) RPG protection systems, the protection system may includetransparent panels inclined by about 20-40 degrees off an imaginaryvertical plane normal to the floor or surface that the vehicle rests on.The panels may for example be made of PMMA or other thermoplasticmaterial. The non-windowed portions of the vehicle may be protectedusing foam such as aluminum. The incoming RPG's piezeoelectric sensormay first be neutralized by an active mechanism or a passive structure.For example, an active mechanism may propel a disrupting element thatmay truncate or short circuit the nose cone which serves as the lead forsignals from the piezo-electric sensor of the RPG thereby eliminatingthe risk of a shaped charge warhead explosion. The disabled RPG whichthen reaches the vehicle may then be decelerated by the inclined windowpanels so that the disabled RPG never reaches the threshold decelerationneeded to cause its explosives to explode in a non-standard (non-shapedcharge configuration) manner.

In contrast to the prior art RPG countermeasure systems which mayactively or passively neutralize the capacity of the RPG to explodethrough a shaped charge configuration, but which nonetheless do noteliminate or reduce the ability of the neutralized RPG to still explodein a non-shaped charge configuration and penetrate the vehicle, the RPGprotection mechanism of the present invention may prevent an explosionfrom a neutralized.RPG. When used in conjunction with active or passivedisruption mechanisms, the present invention may neutralize and thenprevent such an explosion. It may do this by reducing the impulse ofimpact of a disabled RPG to below a threshold level needed to explode.In further contrast to prior art RPG countermeasure systems, which maybe suitable for protection of some parts of a vehicle but not windowedportions of the vehicle, or portions through which occupants need tolook through, the countermeasure mechanism of the present inventionmay—alone or in conjunction with solid foam on the non-windowed portionsof the vehicle—protect against explosion of an RPG coming toward thewindows of the vehicle. Nonetheless, the windowed portions of thevehicle may still be usable to look through. In still further contrastto prior art RPG countermeasure systems that may merely thicken thewalls of the vehicle, thereby making the vehicle less agile, the RPGdisruption mechanism of the present invention may prevent the RPG fromexploding and penetrating the vehicle without adding significant weightto the vehicle, and without limiting the vehicle's agility and militaryvalue.

The principles and operation of a method and system for a RPG protectionmechanism according to the present invention may be better understoodwith reference to the drawings and the accompanying description.

Applicant has conducted experiments in which rocket fire from an RPG wasdirected against a rigid wall. In the first experiment, thepiezo-electric sensor was disconnected but not removed and the fuse andexplosives left intact. In some of the cases, an explosion occurred thatwas not a liner axial jet formation. In the second experiment, the fuseof the RPG was removed and replaced with an inert object but theexplosives and piezo-electric sensor were left intact. No is shapedcharge axial jet formation resulted in any of the tries and no explosionoccurred when the main fuse of the RPG crashed into the wall. Thisindicates that the fuse is necessary to cause an explosion. Thissuggests that if the piezo-electric sensor is in place even if thepiezo-electric sensor is disconnected, an explosion can occur from theforces developing on the fuse during its impact into the wall.

The term “disabled RPG” should be understood to mean an RPG that canstill explode but cannot explode in a shaped charge configuration in itsnormal manner because either its piezo-electric sensor has beentruncated from the RPG or an electric short circuit (i.e. between anaerodynamic cover and an inner metal envelope cone) has caused a failurein the detonator to ignite, in either case resulting in the RPG losingthe ability to explode in its normal shaped charge configuration.Example of a disabled RPG 80 are shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D. “Disabling anRPG” means disrupting the RPG so as to make it a “disabled RPG”.

As seen from FIG. 1, a vehicle may have side walls 12, rear wall 14,front wall 13 (see FIGS. 3A-3F), roof 18, bottom 20 (chassis) and doors30A, 30B. The vehicle also has a protection system 10 or assembly 10 forwindowed areas or windows of a vehicle 15 against RPGs may comprise aset of panels 20 that may be attached to the vehicle 15 and are largeenough to cover the windows 16 (see FIGS. 3A-3F) or the windowed areas16 (see FIGS. 3A-3F) of the vehicle 15. In some embodiments, some or allof the panels 20 may extend the full height of the vehicle and therebyeven cover metallic portions of the side doors.

Under normal circumstances, the panels in the set of panels aretransparent so that the windows still functional: As shown in FIG. 3A,FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, the panels 20 of set of panels may be inclinedrelative to an imaginary vertical plane P normal to the surface S thatthe vehicle rests on by an angle that is between 20 and 40 degrees.Preferably, the angle of incline of panels 20 from plane P is about 25degrees off the vertical, or in other preferred embodiments between 20and 30 or between 30 and 40 or between 25 and 30 degrees or between 25and 35 degrees off the vertical plane. FIGS. 3D-3F show an alternativeorientation of the inclined panels 20, otherwise similar to the FIGS.3A-3C respectively, in which the angle off the vertical plane is similarin magnitude but oriented in a different direction. Protection system 10may also utilize combinations of inclined panels 20 with differentorientations.

The transparent panels 20 may be made of a material such that the panelscan dissipate the kinetic energy of the incoming disabled RPG, and maydeflect a disabled RPG. An example of such a material is athermoplastic, which may be poly(methyl methacrylate) or PMMA.

In some preferred embodiments, each of the panels 20 in the set ofpanels is inclined at the same or similar angles to the vertical plane.In other cases, however, multiple panels may be configured together toform shapes that in combination dissipate the kinetic energy of thedisabled RPG and prevent its explosion. For example, as shown in FIG. 4,a first panel 22 and a second panel 24 of the set of transparent panelsmay be configured so that an upper end 22 a of the first panelintersects the vertical plane while a lower end 24 b of the second panel24 intersects the vertical plane. Furthermore, the first and secondpanels may also be joined at a lower end 22 b of the first panel and atan upper end 24 a of the second panel 24 so as to form substantially “V”shape, as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protection system 10 may also include an activeRPG countermeasure mechanism 26 that may be an active disruptionmechanism or a static structure. Other elements shown in FIG. 1 whichmay form part of the active disruption system include radar 60 for earlydetection of the RPG which may initialize the disruption mechanism uponprocessing of the detection signals by the controller 75. An example ofa static structure is a structure attached to the vehicle 15. An exampleof an active disruption mechanism is described in the above-referencedpatent application (WO 2010/029530) for an Enclosure Protecting Systemand Method (published Mar. 18, 2010) that neutralizes RPGs and otherprojectiles by preventing initiation of the jet stream explosion of theexplosive material of the RPG before it strikes. As shown in FIGS. 2Athrough 2D, this active disruption mechanism may include a propellingmechanism for propelling a projectile 48 at an incoming fused RPG 80,thereby resulting in a disabled RPG 80. The RPG disruption mechanism maybe in close proximity to the vehicle and may launch a disrupter thattruncates the piezo-electric sensor or causes a failure in the detonatormechanism of the RPG, thereby resulting in a “disabled RPG”. Forexample, as shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D (especially FIGS. 2A, 2C) thedisruption mechanism may include a casing having a trough-like anvilportion 46 supporting a propelling mechanism for propelling a disruptingelement 48 toward an approaching RPG and an activation system foractivating the propelling mechanism so as to truncate or disablepiezo-electric sensor 98 or else create an electric short circuit thatresults in failure of the detonator 94 (FIG. 2G) to ignite. This may befurther understood from FIGS. 2E through 2G. FIG. 2E is a sectionedisometric view of a typical RPG warhead 80. The warhead is a shapedcharge comprising a cylinder of explosive 82 with a metal-lined conicalhollow (liner) 84, an inner metal envelope cone 86 which togetherconstitute a hollow space 88, a detonator 94 in conjunction with theexplosive 82, the detonator 94 being electrically coupled to apiezo-electric sensor 98 at a fore end of the warhead via a conductiveaerodynamic cover 90 and the inner metal envelope core 86. Upon impactof the Piezo-electric sensor 98 of a non-disabled RPG with a target, anelectric current generates and is conducted via the conductiveaerodynamic cover 90 and the inner metal envelope core 86 and the liner84 to ignite the detonator 94 resulting in detonation of the explosive82. Disabling/truncating the piezo-electric sensor 98 (FIG. 2F) orcreate the aforementioned electric short circuit to create a disabledRPG will result in failure of the detonator 94 to ignite and theexplosive charge 82 from exploding in a shaped charge configuration.

Panels 20 should be rigid enough to deflect an incoming RPG, that is toaffect its movement. “Deflect” does not necessarily mean that the RPGremains in one piece and does not break after impacting the panels 20.Accordingly, when the disabled RPG that still contains the undetonatedexplosives reaches the vehicle, the inclined window panels 20 maydeflect the disabled RPG and reduce an impulse of impact of the RPGcolliding with the vehicle to below a threshold impulse of impact, thethreshold impulse defined to trigger explosion of the explosives in thedisabled RPG. This threshold impulse may be 9 G units of acceleration(standard gravity: 9.80665 meters per second squared). In some preferredembodiments, panels 20 may by configured to reduce the impulse of impactof the disabled RPG to no more than 7 G units of acceleration, and inother preferred embodiments, to no more than 6 G, or to no more than 5G.

The inclined panels 20 or boards 20 may also deflect the disabled RPG soas to make it less likely to penetrate the vehicle 15. For example, thedeflection may generate a transverse component in the motion of thedisabled RPG thereby dissipating some of its kinetic energy and when thedisabled RPG impacts the vehicle the deceleration force against thevehicle may be lessened to a level below the threshold level needed totrigger detonation of the explosives in the disabled RPG.

As seen in FIG. 3C and FIG. 3F (which show the protection system 10without an RPG disruption mechanism), the protection system 10 may alsoinclude a layer of a shock absorbing element (e.g. a metallic orpolymeric foam) 50 covering the non-windowed portion of the vehicle, forexample side walls and roof and the rest of the chassis. As shown inFIG. 3F, the transparent panels 20 may be angled such that thetransparent panels 20 extend out to a surface of the layer of shockabsorbing foam 50 and meet a non-transparent block 51 that houses, thesolid foam 50. Accordingly, if a disabled RPG bounces off the foam, itcan be further decelerated so as to reduce its impact force. If thedeceleration force or impulse of impact is below a threshold impulse,the explosives in the disabled detonator will not explode and thedisabled RPG will not even penetrate the vehicle 15.

By utilizing thermoplastic, panels 20 may be lightweight so the vehicleneed not lose a significant amount of agility. For example, in oneillustrative but non-limiting example of weights and areas, a Hummer hadboth windowed and non-windowed shock absorption mechanisms (i.e. foam 50over non-windowed sides and panels 20 over windowed areas). Each of thetwo side surfaces had covered or protected areas that spanned 2 squaremeters. The weight of the combination of the solid foam and set oftransparent thermoplastic panels came out to 45 kilograms. The weight ofthe panels was therefore a small fraction of the weight of the vehicle(approximately 3,000 kg) and did not meaningfully affect its agility.

In some versions, one of more of the transparent panels may haveassociated therewith a rotatable flexion region, for example a hinge,for rotation of the one or more transparent panels to compensate forvarying topographical situations and thereby present an inclined surfaceto an incoming disabled RPG fired from a hilltop relative to a surfaceon which the vehicle stands.

The present invention may also be described as a vehicle protection kitagainst RPGs, comprising an RPG disruption mechanism 26 attached to thevehicle for disabling the RPG (i.e. creating a “disabled RPG, asdefined, by truncating the piezo-electric sensor or disabling thedetonator mechanism of the RPG) without removing explosives from thedetonator of the RPG and allowing a disabled RPG to impact the vehicle.The RPG disruption mechanism may include active RPG countermeasuremechanism 26 or a static mechanism such as structure attached to thevehicle (not shown). The vehicle protection kit may also include a layerof solid foam 50 covering non-windowed sides of the vehicle andtransparent panels 20 covering windowed sides of the vehicle, the panelsinclined off a vertical plane normal to the surface on which the vehiclerests by an angle such that a disabled RPG colliding with thetransparent panels after being decelerated will have less impulse ofimpact than a threshold impulse of impact needed to trigger explosion ofthe explosives.

As shown in FIG. 6, the present invention may also be described as amethod 100 of protecting a vehicle from an RPG without adverselyaffecting an agility of the vehicle. Method 100 may have a step 110 ofdisabling the RPG (creating a disabled RPG, as defined) which may be byactive disruption or static disruption, so that the disabled RPG stillcontaining explosives impacts the vehicle. The active disruption may bedisabling the detonator mechanism of the RPG for example by activatingan activation system to deliver a disturbing element that eithertruncates the piezo-electric sensor of the RPG or short circuits thedetonator mechanism, or the neutralizing may be a static structureattached to the vehicle that short circuits or otherwise completelyneutralizes the piezo-electric sensor thereby avoiding a jet streamexplosion. The static structure may be a set of rods or discs orspheres. As a result of the disabling of the RPG, a disabled RPGcontaining explosives may continue toward and impact the vehicle.

A further step 120 of method 100 may involve absorbing an impact fromdeflecting the disabled RPG using transparent lightweight panels 20covering windows of the vehicle so as to reduce the impulse of impactfrom the disabled RPG to below a threshold level of deceleration neededfor explosion, the transparent panels inclined off a vertical plane bybetween 20 and 40 degrees (and preferably between about 20 to 30 degreesor between about 25 to 35 degrees) to prevent the disabled RPG fromexploding and penetrating the vehicle. The panels need not addsignificant weight to the vehicle and hence the method of protectionneed not reduce the agility and value of the vehicle.

The method may in some versions also include a step of using solid foam50, such as aluminum foam, around non-windowed sections of the vehicleto reduce the impulse of impact from the disabled RPG againstnon-windowed sections of the vehicle. The method may also includereducing the impulse of impact from the disabled RPG to below athreshold level of deceleration needed for explosion, which thresholdlevel may be 9 G.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.Therefore, the claimed invention as recited in the claims that follow isnot limited to the embodiments described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A protection system for vehicle windows againstRPGs, comprising: an RPG countermeasure mechanism against an RPG thatresults in a disabled RPG, the RPG countermeasure mechanism selectedfrom (i) an active disruption mechanism that propels an object at anincoming RPG and (ii) a static structure attached to a vehicle to beprotected; and a set of transparent panels attached to the vehicle, thepanels large enough to cover the windows of the vehicle, the panels ofthe set of transparent panels inclined relative to an imaginary verticalplane normal to a surface that the vehicle rests on by an angle that isbetween 20 and 40 degrees, the panels made of a material for absorbingan impact from the disabled RPG with no residual explosion.
 2. Theprotection system of claim 1, wherein the material is a rigid thenthermoplastic.
 3. The protection system of claim 1, wherein the materialis poly(methyl methacrylate).
 4. The protection system of claim 1,further comprising a layer of shock absorbing foam covering anon-windowed portion of the vehicle.
 5. The protection system of claim1, wherein the angle is such that the transparent panels extend out to asurface of a layer of shock absorbing foam that covers a non-windowedportion of the vehicle.
 6. The protection system of claim 1, furthercomprising each of the transparent panels inclined to a verticalposition by an angle that is between 25 and 35 degrees.
 7. Theprotection system of claim 1, further comprising a first panel and asecond panel of the set of transparent panels, an upper end of the firstpanel intersecting the vertical plane, a lower end of the second panelintersecting the vertical plane.
 8. The protection system of claim 7,further comprising the first and second panels joined at a lower end ofthe first panel and at an upper end of the second panel.
 9. Theprotection system of claim 1, wherein the active disruption mechanismcomprises: an RPG disruption mechanism in close proximity to the vehiclefor launching a disrupter that disables a detonator mechanism of theRPG; a casing having an anvil supporting a propelling mechanism forpropelling a disrupting element toward an approaching RPG; and anactivation system for activating the propelling mechanism.
 10. The RPGneutralization mechanism of claim 1, further comprising a layer of foamsurrounding walls of the vehicle other than windows of the vehicle. 11.The RPG neutralization mechanism of claim 10, wherein the foam isselected from a metal and a polymer.
 12. The RPG neutralizationmechanism of claim 11, wherein the foam is made from aluminum.
 13. AnRPG neutralization mechanism for a vehicle, the RPG includingexplosives, the RPG neutralization mechanism comprising: an RPGdisruption mechanism in close proximity to the vehicle for disabling adetonator mechanism of the RPG without removing the explosives andthereby resulting in a disabled RPG; a set of transparent panelscovering windows of the vehicle, each transparent panel of the setconfigured at an incline angle of approximately 20 to 40 degrees from animaginary vertical plane normal to a surface on which the vehicle restsand rigid so as to reduce an impulse of impact of the RPG colliding withthe vehicle to below a threshold impulse of impact, the thresholdimpulse defined to trigger explosion of the explosives in the disabledRPG.
 14. The RPG neutralization mechanism of claim 13, wherein thetransparent panels are configured to reduce the impulse of impact of theRPG to no more than 7 G.
 15. The RPG neutralization mechanism of claim13, wherein the transparent panels are made of a rigid thermoplastic.16. The RPG neutralization mechanism of claim 13, wherein thetransparent panels are made from poly(methyl methacrylate).
 17. The RPGneutralization mechanism of claim 13, wherein the incline angle isapproximately 25 degrees.
 18. A vehicle protection kit against RPGs,comprising: an RPG disruption mechanism attached to the vehicle fordisabling an RPG without removing explosives from a detonator of the RPGand allowing a disabled RPG to impact the vehicle; a layer of foamcovering non-windowed sides of the vehicle; transparent panels coveringwindowed sides of the vehicle, the panels inclined off a vertical planenormal to the surface on which the vehicle rests by an angle such that adisabled RPG colliding with the transparent panels after bouncing offthe solid foam will have less impulse of impact than a threshold impulseof impact needed to trigger explosion of the explosives.
 19. The vehicleprotection kit of claim 18, wherein the transparent panels areconfigured to reduce the impulse of impact of the RPG to no more than 7G.
 20. The vehicle protection kit of claim 18, wherein the angle is 20to 25 degrees.
 21. A method of protecting a vehicle from an RPG withoutadversely affecting an agility of the vehicle, comprising: disabling theRPG by active disruption or static disruption, so that a disabled RPGstill containing explosives impacts the vehicle; and absorbing an impactfrom the disabled RPG using transparent lightweight panels coveringwindows of the vehicle so as to reduce an impulse of impact from thedisabled RPG to below a threshold level of deceleration needed forexplosion, the transparent panels inclined off a vertical plane bybetween 20 and 40 degrees to prevent the disabled RPG from exploding.22. The method of claim 21, further comprising using solid foam aroundnon-windowed sections of the vehicle to reduce the impulse of impactfrom the disabled RPG against non-windowed sections of the vehicle. 23.The method of claim 21, further comprising absorbing the impact from thedisabled RPG using the transparent lightweight panels so as to reduce animpulse of impact from the disabled RPG to no more than 7 G.
 24. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the transparent panels inclined off avertical plane by between 25 and 35 degrees.